1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to rotary engines, and more particularly to a circular rotary engine with controlled rotary piston rotation and reciprocation for pressurization, compression and/or combustion applications, improved sealing of rotor and related inlet and outlet porting, directional chamber closure, functional internal and external gear drive applications, and control of circular rotary piston movement by a rotary flywheel guide.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Circular rotary engines and pumps are known in the art, and there are several patents which utilize a circular rotating and undulating contoured rotor piston of some form. However, these patents differ from the present invention in structure and functional characteristics for compression/combustion, pressure fluid movement or various combinations thereof.
German Patent 274,940 utilizes a guided rotary piston with wave shaped frontal areas. The structural form of the rotary piston frontal contours and the stationary cylinder frontal areas are defined as waves that are shaped symmetrically with slanted side areas between the rotary piston waves and like slanted areas between the stationary cylinder waves. As described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the rotary piston and cylinder frontal areas are symmetrical in shape. Therefore, when one side of the rotary piston wave shaped areas are seated in its contrary symmetrically shaped cylinder frontal indentation, there exists a total volume displacement on one side of the rotary piston and recipient cylinder end. This places the opposite rotary piston side and cylinder end in the full open volume position, with the symmetrical wave shaped frontal areas of the piston and cylinder being center aligned. With this configured position, the piston rotor is locked in place, if facial surface of the frontal areas are to maintain seal contact of the chambers for compression, combustion, and/or pressurization.
Boyd U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,876 relates the chamber configuration and size to the rotor movement and teaches that the movement of the rotary piston frontal wave around the cylinder frontal wave will create an opposed indented chamber with an elongated cam curve, not symmetrical, which creates a larger indentation shape than the frontal wave areas on both the piston and cylinder ends. However, Boyd does not provide for compression of fluids or gases to one chamber end with closure on the other end, to allow controlled pressure variances in the case of fluids, nor compartmental chamber compression control for gaseous combustion to provide directional rotor thrust.
The present invention seeks to resolve these problems and is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a circular rotary engine having a housing with spaced concentric cylindrical walls defining an annulus therebetween with intake and exhaust ports through the sides of the walls and a cylindrical rotary piston ring having multiple symmetrically undulating frontal surfaces on both ends and coaxial interior and exterior gears for shaft drive which rotates within the annulus while reciprocating between end ring members positioned within the annulus and secured at each end of the interior and exterior walls. The end rings have opposite facing undulating frontal surfaces symmetrical with the undulating frontal surface of the rotary piston such that the piston ring frontal surfaces cooperate with the end ring frontal surfaces to alternately create a volume area and displace the volume area in some portion during rotation, thus alternately opening a series of chambers on one end of the rotary piston while displacing chambers on the opposite end with the oscillating movement during axial rotation of the rotary piston responding in motion against the symmetric frontal surfaces of the end rings. This motion is accomplished while maintaining frontal surface contact at all times, without restriction to rotation whereby frontal surface seal contact is maintained during axial reciprocating and rotary movement. All components are coaxial thus providing the rotary piston with controlled circular axial rotation within the annulus with the end ring members controlling reciprocation.